I heard the conversation continue between the three of them, with Jen leaning against a counter. I didn’t see Liane, though, which only meant one thing.

  “Liane, help me find the stairs upstairs,” I whispered.

  “No fair, you need to let me jump scare you. You can’t call me out like that,” Liane said sadly.

  I laughed, but we got to work checking doors and trying to find the stairs.

  It didn’t take long for Liane to find it. I was surprised because the doorway was very well hidden, as the wall and the door seemed to blend seamlessly.

  As we made our way upstairs, Liane whispered again, “Sooo… what is upstairs that’s got your attention?”

  “There is something glowing brightly up here,” I whispered back, still watching it glow.

  “Ooh, a mystery!” Liane giggled as we made our way further.

  The upstairs seemed to be very basic living quarters, with two empty rooms with wooden floors and a very high roof, with the third room was a small lab, with its stone floors and stone counters along the edge of the room.

  I made my way to the seemingly regular room that had the glow. It appeared to be completely empty. Looking over the wooden floor, my eyes were locked on the spot where I could still see the glow.

  “I think it’s under the floor?” I said, looking over the wood panels carefully.

  They didn’t appear any different. Nothing stood out as removable.

  “Where exactly is it?” Liane asked, pulling out her dagger.

  I got on the floor and pointed directly at the spot. She quickly tried to dig her daggers into the wood and pry it up, but she found no luck, as her knife seemingly scraped across the surface, not even leaving a scratch.

  “Huh, it’s protected by magic? Whatever this is, Trev, I don’t think they wanted anyone to find it,” Liane said.

  “Should I get Milo?” I asked curiously. Surely he’d know.

  “No, not while the princess is here. Whatever this is, someone wanted it to remain hidden,” Liane said.

  I just nodded. It also crossed my mind that Lily might be able to help, but there was just as much chance of her putting a hole in the floor.

  “Let’s head back down,” Liane said.

  I nodded, taking one last look at it. There appeared to be two items, one barely larger than a dilwater berry. The other was almost certainly a jar of something.

  As we made our way back down, the conversation between the Princess, Milo and Micca was still ongoing, with the Princess now suggesting turning the ground floor into an upmarket cafe, selling cakes, pastries, tea, and other hot beverages, then selling the candies in a more private setting.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, I got distracted. There is an upstairs area too, but I see that you have already found that,” she said, noticing the direction we came from.

  “Yes, thank you. If I may ask, Your Highness, who used to own this shop?” I asked.

  Kathrine’s face dropped. “An old alchemist by the name of Bosco, who regrettably passed away last year. He was well loved, and taught an entire generation. He was likely the best alchemist we have had in this kingdom, so losing him was a big loss for us all.”

  There was sadness in her voice, as it seemed like she knew him personally.

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” I answered.

  “It’s fine. As you can see, he did well for himself in the end. His journals are in the royal library now, much to the alchemist guild’s annoyance, although they dare not argue with his last wishes,” she let out a bitter laugh.

  Milo gave a small cough. “This might be presumptuous, but you don’t see eye to eye with the alchemist guild, I take it?”

  She seemed to straighten up a little. “The kingdom and the alchemist guild work hand in ha—”

  Liane didn’t even let her finish. “He didn’t ask the kingdom. He asked you.”

  A smile appeared briefly on Kathrine’s face. “Are you always so blunt? My father was complaining about how you berated him in the carriage. I’ve not heard him complain like that unless my mother was telling him off,” she laughed again.

  “Okay, off the record, no, I don’t particularly like the alchemy guild’s practices, but officially we are in alliance,” she said.

  “I see. I only ask because these candies, and likely the other products to follow, will probably upset some of the alchemists when they find out, and we need to know that Micca will be safe,” Milo said.

  “Hm. Well, Trevor has the King’s protection and everything that comes with that, so they won’t do anything openly. If I may suggest, spread a rumour, true or not, that Lord Ashmoon and his companions are very good friends with her, and I’m sure that fear will stop a lot of underhanded tactics,” she said.

  “That’s not a rumour. we are friends, and just Trevor, please,” I protested.

  She shook her head. “You’re a noble house now. That makes you a Lord. Nice name, by the way. I like it. Anyway, I will leave you all to it to make your plans. I’ve intruded long enough.”

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  And with a quick bow, she left the room and was gone.

  “Well, it’s certainly going to be interesting working out of here,” Micca said, looking around.

  Following Micca as she went through the rooms, making sure there was plenty of time for Kathrine to leave, I finally got Milo’s attention.

  “There’s something upstairs, by the way, hidden in the floor,” I said in a whisper.

  “Oh?” His eyes lit up.

  “It’s protected by some magic I couldn’t pierce,” Liane added.

  This seemed to really grab his attention, along with Micca’s and Jen’s.

  “Well, lead on. Let’s find out what we have here,” he said with a giant smile.

  A few moments later, we were all piled into the room as I pointed to the spot on the floor. He knelt next to it, closely inspecting the piece of wood.

  He was there for several minutes as we all watched in silence.

  “This may be beyond me. It’s incredibly complex, and I’m worried if I force it, the items inside will be destroyed,” he said, shaking his head.

  “Lily won’t work either then?” I asked.

  Milo laughed. “I suspect this entire building could be reduced to rubble, and this piece of floor would still be in one piece, unblemished. No, Lily won’t work, but maybe Sylverith?”

  I figured I could ask. “Lily, are you watching?” I asked.

  A moment later, I saw emerald-green eyes in the shadows.

  “Could you possibly ask Sylverith if she could help us? There’s something special in the floor, but it’s protected by some powerful magic,” I said.

  She didn’t move.

  “It’s food-related, and it’s glowing the brightest I’ve ever seen,” I added.

  The eyes vanished.

  Jen laughed. “She really is a sucker for food, isn’t she?”

  It didn’t take long before there was yelling outside, with guards shouting something I couldn’t quite hear.

  Making our way to the front door, the scene before us was both hilarious and terrifying, as Lily was headbutting into Sylverith, pushing her towards the store, with people gathering to observe as guards had seemingly formed a perimeter around them, keeping people from getting too close.

  I let out a sigh. I had meant for her to just ask Sylverith, not drag her here right away.

  When Sylverith made eye contact with us, though, a giant grin appeared on her face, clearly enjoying the show that was being put on.

  “Trevor, dear, seems I needed to come see you,” she called out.

  An unmistakable hush fell over the crowd, who looked both terrified and curious.

  “Best come inside. We didn’t want so much of an audience,” I said.

  What I didn’t expect was for Sylverith to stop, Lily’s next bump not even moving her, showing that she wasn’t being forced anywhere. Then a pressure rolled out that even I felt. The message behind it was clear: a warning.

  This seemed to have been enough, though, as parts of the crowd began to run, and the guards looked torn between staying where they were and fighting or running as well.

  Turning around, I saw Micca’s face was pale, sweat beading on her head.

  A moment later, a smiling Sylverith was before us as we made our way into the shop, Lily vanishing again the moment she stepped foot inside.

  “Lily said you found something incredibly important and needed my assistance,” she said as soon as the door shut behind her.

  I felt embarrassed. It was important, but I didn’t know that it was so important as to interrupt whatever she was doing and drag her over here. With a sigh, I pointed upstairs.

  “There is something in the floor, protected by some complex magic that Milo couldn’t break without damaging the item. We thought maybe you could help,” I said.

  “Young Milo is quite bright, and yet it was too complex for you? How interesting. Show me,” she said.

  We had not even made it halfway up the stairs when she stopped, looking directly in the direction of the items. “Ah yes, I can sense it now. Curious, that is old magic,” she said.

  Entering the room again, we all crowded in, giving Sylverith space as she inspected the floor. Milo was upfront; I was guessing, hoping to learn something.

  The floor lit up in a vibrant array of colours, as if it were running through a rainbow, as layers were separated off and vanished, eventually leaving what appeared to be a navy blue, dull glow.

  Then, without warning, the wooden board in the floor cracked before turning to dust entirely, revealing two objects. I was right about the jar; it was small, but had a vibrant, pearlescent pink hue to it. The second item looked like an ordinary black seed with a white dot on it.

  As Sylverith reached down, picking up the seed, I saw her hand visibly shake, as Lily appeared right next to her, staring at the seed in her hand.

  “Uh, what is it?” I asked, as everyone else seemed to have lost their tongues.

  “This… this, my dear child, is a treasure. In common tongue, it is called the Moon Orchid. However, this flower was believed to have gone extinct over two millennia ago. I understand this is your house and your treasure, Trevor; however, I cannot allow this to be in the hands of humans,” she said, looking very serious, like I had never seen before, as she looked directly into my eyes.

  “That’s fine. You can take it,” I said, looking to the others and only getting a frightened nod from Liane.

  “The powder appears to be the dried remnants of a Moon Orchid. It has no use to me dried like that, but it is a treasure beyond compare,” she said, still looking at me.

  “Hide it well. I will come to pick up this seed momentarily. Please keep it safe, Lily,” she said before placing the seed on the ground at Lily’s paw, her form then vanishing.

  I knew this was an illusion, but to just see her vanish like that was a very odd sight. Then it struck me what she said.

  I reached down and placed the jar in my storage, not going anywhere near the seed that Lily now had in her mouth.

  Would you like to store [Legendary] Moon Orchid Dust x1 for 5 mana? Yes/No

  “Uh, if she’s coming to pick it up, that means she’s coming in her true form, doesn’t it?” I said, looking at Milo and Jen.

  “Shit,” Milo muttered.

  We rushed outside, still seeing a perimeter of guards, now joined by several royal guards who seemed to have been caught up in it. I quickly caught the attention of one I remembered seeing back in Farnox.

  “Artour, we need to clear as much area as possible, and quickly,” I said in a panic.

  Jen came up behind me. “Get the people back to safety. The pressure here is about to become dangerous,” she said in a very serious tone.

  Artour didn’t question it, snapping to attention before yelling orders to all the surrounding guards as they began to disperse the crowd where they could, and keep them back where they refused.

  “What’s going on?” Artour finally asked.

  “Sylverith, the dragon, will be here in a moment. I’ve experienced her pressure firsthand, twice. It will be too much for people,” Jen said bluntly.

  His eyes went wide and he started yelling more orders; the tone in his voice causing the guards to really push the people back.

  “Why? Are we in danger?” Artour asked.